SOME 61 soldiers under the 303rd Infantry Brigade have already cast their votes as the local absentee voting started on Wednesday, April 27, 2022.

Major General Benedict Arevalo, who is the commander of the 3rd Infantry Division (ID), encouraged all soldiers who registered for the absentee voting to participate for them to exercise their rights to suffrage.

“We would like to thank the Commission of Elections (Comelec) for the opportunity given to soldiers to vote, before their actual deployment in areas of Western and Central Visayas,” Arevalo said.

He said together with other state forces and the Comelec, they all aim to have a safe and peaceful election this coming May 2022.

There are 1,186 3ID personnel across Western and Central Visayas signified to the Comelec to participate in the three-day absentee voting.

The local absentee voters are allowed to vote for national positions in places where they are temporarily assigned to perform election duties on election day.

Aside from the army, 1,753 policemen from Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office, Bacolod City Police Office, the National Support Unit and the Regional Mobile Force Battalion-Negros Occidental registered as absentee voters.

As of Wednesday, only 665 have cast their votes.